Meghalaya Guv tweets 'boycott everything Kashmiri', later claims he quoted ex-armyman

New Delhi, Feb 19: Against the backdrop of the Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel, Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy on Wednesday tweeted he is 'inclined' to agree on the appeal made by a 'retired colonel of Indian Army' asking people to 'boycott everything 'Kashmiri'. Roy also asked people not to visit Kashmir or visit Amarnath for the next two years.

Taking to Twitter, Tathagata Roy said,''An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don't visit Kashmir,don't go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don't buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri.''

Following the controversy, Roy also posted another suggestion and termed it as 'NON-VIOLENT REACTION'. He defended himself saying that his comment was "a purely non-violent reaction to the killing of our soldiers by the hundreds and the driving out of 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits."

Earlier, Shiv Sena MLC and spokesperson Manisha Kayande had also appealed to all the "Indians and tour companies to boycott Kashmir tourism for two years''. She said boycotting tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, "where youth, women and children pelt stones on security forces", would hurt the economic resources of the northern state.

Meanwhile, following incidents of violence against Kashmiri students and traders reported from several parts of the country as a backlash to the Pulwama carnage, ordinary citizens and even the CRPF, which is mourning the loss of 44 of its men, came forward and offered help.

The Home Ministry has also issued an advisory to all states/UTs to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of Kashmiri students following reports of students and other residents of Jammu and Kashmir experiencing threats and intimidation.

On February 14, at least 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.